Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) urged coalition leaders to quickly reach an agreement to lift the ban on combustion engines in the EU. “We cannot force an end to the use of combustion engines by 2035 and may lose the economic base in the process,” Schnieder said in an interview with “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ). Therefore, a ban on combustion engines is the wrong approach. There is also potential for further development in combustion engine technology.
Although Schnieder sees a clear trend towards electric mobility, he does not believe that an industry transformation towards electric cars by 2035 is possible. “Combustion engines still have a future everywhere in the world,” the minister said. “We are a country at the forefront of technology, and we will limit all competence if we ban diesel and petrol engines. We have to be open to technology.”
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) wants to lobby the EU to make changes to the planned end of approval for internal combustion engines in 2035. However, there is still no common ground on this within the coalition. The Social Democrats generally want to stick to a phase-out date for new combustion engines starting in 2035. Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil recently appeared open to a solution combining electromobility and combustion engine technologies.
Klingbeil expects a deal “soon.”
The SPD politician hopes that there will be a common opinion from the government coalition regarding the end of the combustion engine in early December. “I want us to quickly find a solution,” the SPD leader told the “Rheinische Post” (Saturday). The party is clearly moving because it wants to get jobs in the automotive industry. When asked what he meant by immediate, Klingbeil said: “We must have a united position as Germany in Brussels by the beginning of December.”
The future belongs to electric cars, stressed Klingbeil. Along the way, Germany needs more technological options such as range extenders and plug-in hybrids. But most importantly, now it is about unity. “We must act like Germany in a unified manner in Brussels,” stressed the Vice Chancellor. If Germany improves its political framework, then there must be a “clear commitment” from car companies to Germany as a location and a guarantee of jobs in this country.
